Organic gardening may be a major pain, or a joyous hobby. The following suggestions will guide you on how to be a very successful organic gardener.
Turn the handles of tools you have on hand into rulers to make measurements in your garden. Tools with long handles such as hoes and rakes can double as measuring sticks. After laying the handles on the floor, run the measuring tape along beside them. It's a good idea to label distances with a permanent marker. Now when you go to work in the garden, you will have a ruler that is large at your fingertips!
Plant perennials that slugs and snails won't be interested in eating. A plant can be completely demolished overnight by slugs and snails. They tend to enjoy perennials that have thin, smooth, tender leaves, especially those of young plants. Some perennials, however, leave a bad taste in slugs' mouths or are difficult to chew through because their leaves aren't tender. Some varieties of these plants are campanula, helleborus, heuchera, or euphorbia.
Your tool handles can double as measuring sticks. Tools with long handles, such as shovels, hoes and rakes can be made into measuring sticks. All you have to do is lay them on the floor then use a measuring tape to measure their length. Label the distances using a permanent marker. When you decide to work in the garden again, you will now have a ruler at your disposal.
Use bulbs to ensure continuous flowers throughout the spring and summer. Planting and growing bulbs is very simple, and once planted the bulbs will grow for years. Different varieties of bulbs flower at varied times and if you make the right choices you can have blossoms from early spring through late summer.
Knee Pads
Knee pads are a gardener's friend when caring for plants low to the ground. Long hours spent in the garden will wreak havoc on your knees. Your knees can get supported with a decent pair of gardening knee pads.
Try using annuals and biennials to add color to your flower beds, and brighten them up. Fast-growing annuals and biennials can brighten up a flower bed, and allow you to change the look from season to season and year to year. They are very useful for filling in the gaps between perennials and shrubs in a sunny area. Notable collections include sunflower, marigold, hollyhock, rudbeckia, cosmos, and petunia.
For weeds that aren't in the middle of your plants, use boiling water to kill their roots. This is a safe way to eliminate weeds, as this will not damage the soil. Make sure to pour only on the weeds and to stay away from healthy vegetation. Weed roots will suffer harm from boiling water, and this will probably stop them from growing more.
Do you like mint, but not how they ruin your garden? That's why it's better to place mint in containers rather than letting it have free rein in your garden. You can even plant the container in the ground. That way, the roots won't be able to escape the container, and the plant won't overrun your garden.
As is evident by the information in this article, organic horticulture involves much more than one might initially think. It involves lots of work as well as patience, but it's so worth it when you see your beautiful organic garden. The groundwork of information contained in this article should get you off to a good start.
There are home solutions available to combat the powdery mildew you may find on your plants. Try mixing a little liquid soap with some baking soda in water. Spray the mixture on the plants once every seven days or so until you no longer see the mildew. The baking soda is harmless to your plants and a very effective remedy.